Mady J

Mady J is #5, she is our 2nd reversal baby. Her middle name is Joy and it completely describes her. She fit right into our family from the start. This post is just a little dedication to my littlest one, who seems to be growing a little too fast for this mama.

Mady J doesn't crawl, but rolls. Don't feel sorry for her, she has the strongest abs I have ever seen in a baby.

Rolling some more. She just kicks her legs over and away she goes. And man is she fast!

That is the cutest little face, she makes me want to eat her up! Oh, I do. Lots of mommy coos and funny noises just so I can see the 2 teeth on the bottom. :) Definitely worth it, even if I do look like an idiot.

Isn't she precious, and yes those are 18 month old clothes on an 8 month old baby.

See those teeth! Do you see them?? They are the cutest thing. It just makes me smile and bring a tear to my eye as to how cute she is. Do you see that other chin...you kiss that and nibble on it and you will get the cutest belly laugh.

Going in for another roll. She was eyeing the camera and wanted it real bad. :) She wasn't too fast for this mama.


Whoever said children aren't a blessing didn't have any. Looking at this life makes my heart saddened for other little ones who are missing in this world because they were looked upon as a burden. But God is good and His plan is perfect. Enjoy the little ones, they do grow up to be 10. And that, my friends, is a whole other story.

Coffee

One of my greatest weaknesses is when my husband has to get a green tea. Why you ask? Because that means we are going to Starbucks and though I don't live too far out in the boonies, it is enough that it would take me at least 45 minutes to get my delicious drink and come back home.

So, I love coffee. I love tea as well, however, I do love my coffee! One of my greatest vices. I can't give it up and I don't drink a lot, just enough. It is warm on a cold day, cold on a hot day. You can have it iced, sweet, with or without whip, you can have different flavors, and it is handy, because as we all know, Starbucks is like McDonald's on every corner.

Now one thing I do not like is black coffee. I like girly coffee, flavored, sweet and tan.

You see, Starbucks holds more than just my favorite coffee drink, it also holds a dear sweet memory of meeting my husband (before he was my husband) every morning before I went to work to have a drink and muffin. He sat there smelling so good, so sweet, his eyes bluer than the ocean. That is how he lured me, buying me a drink, not drinking anything, just sitting and staring.

And now we are absolutely in love, with 5 children, going on 8 years.

So if you are single, go to a Starbucks.

How to Homeschool?

I think that sometimes as homeschool families people feel that you have it all together. Well, I am about to break that myth. My life is hardly put together. I fall apart at the seams, I get frustrated and angry, I even at times raise my voice. My kids make huge messes (especially as we are trying to walk out the door), they yell, are rude and sometimes I see absolutely no fruit in their lives. I get discouraged, feel alone, and wonder how to get it all done.

Then I snap out of my pity party, pray to God for his grace and help and away I go.

I struggle with trying to make learning fun. I want my days to be full of laughter and fun, but then it doesn't turn out that way and I feel like a failure.

Right now we are going through that struggle right now. SOS is a great learning tool. As a matter of fact I am quite amazed at my children's curriculum and how there is so much potential to really master thier subjects.

Do I believe that homeschooling should be fun, not all the time. My reasoning behind that is as adults, life isn't alway fun. My children must make the choice to learn and be joyful. There are many character qualities to be gained from overcoming something difficult and then succeeding at it. Life is full of suprises, but what is important to me is the heart at which they are to handle their suprises. I don't want grumbling and mumbling spirits, but one of joy and thankfulness.

Homeschooling isn't everyone's calling, I do believe that the Lord has us at different places to show His glory to everyone. But if you have been called it is truly one of the most rewarding and difficult tasks given to a daddy and mommy. I love it and wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's.

I don't have all the answers and I don't think that is a bad thing. But I do serve a God is who is awesome and all powerful, who is never too busy to hear me (but it is my job to cry out to Him), who works all things out for my good, and loves me so much.

God bless.

Just Fun

Well, today was freezing cold and for Arizona, that is cold. It was cloudy, dark, and raining all day. I mean storming all day long. The rain never stopped till 5pm! So over the weekend I went out and purchased a memory disk reader so I can finally upload pictures!! Yeah!!

So here are a few from our cold, cloudy day.

3 of the 4 sisters. They sure do love each other. It is way too cute!

Here is our Madeline Joy. She has been just sitting up now for about a week. It has been fun to see her grow, but it has gone by way to fast. Here she is at 8 months old. She is so sweet and so cute.

These 2 play all day together. Running around playing with their scooters, bikes and babies. They are best friends. Even when D calls her "caca poopoo head" and Emma screams.

"Say cheese for mommy D." "CCCHHHHEEEESSSSEEE."

She is counting her stolen money. I caught her off guard with the sound of the camera and we were both laughing.

Children are a blessing. No matter how you look at it. In today's time, debt is a blessing and children are a curse. But how can it be that the more you have, the more love you have, the more everything you have. Good and bad. I am learning so much from my children. Mostly, the Lord graciously shows me how much I have yet to grow to be like Him.

I am so thankful for each precious moment, because they are fleeting.

I pray that each of you will also enjoy each precious moments with those the Lord has given you to surround yourself with.

Weekends

The older I get and the larger our family gets I really appreciate and understand the importance of weekends. Planning things to do together as a family.

My husband has a job outside of his home. As much as I would love for him to work from home, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. So the time that he is home, he truly invests all his time into the children and when they go to bed, then to me. :)

Weekends used to be pretty haphazard, fly by the seat of our pants. But unfortunately that lent itself to really busy errands and the kids dissatisfied with their time with their daddy and mommy.

So, we have planned out weekends to do things as a family, something active, not always fun, maybe educational, working on school projects, gardening, going for a walk, or just kicking the ball around in the yard. But really making an attempt to not let things get in the way of our family time. Filling each child's tank the best that we can.

I know that there will be times this won't work, but for the most part it does. The kids love it, we feel knit together a little closer and life works.

I hope this might give you encouragement to plan things as a family and enjoy the sweet time of the weekends doing something you wouldn't normally do.

My Journey

(www.fotovia.co.uk)

I saw this picture and it really spoke to my heart this morning. I am on a journey. The Lord is taking me on a journey of growing closer to becoming like Him. I am learning what it is to be Christ-like. It isn't easy. But change, for some reason is never easy.

This path symbolizes the beauty that awaits. The narrow road, the less chosen one. But all around me is the beauty of the Lord, my life.

The life of following Jesus is never easy, but I don't read anywhere in my Bible that it will be. But what I do read is that I have someone who loves me more and will be by my side no matter what. Someone who wants the best for me, so He prunes me and cleans me to make me more like Him.

I am excited for this journey, one I look forward to taking. I know the outcome will be great! So I wait patiently for my Lord to keep working in my heart. The eyes are the window to the soul. I want my eyes to be so bright that the whole world can see the Lord shining through.

This is my journey. What journey is the Lord leading you on? Are you listening? Are you being obedient?

Smile, someone Great truly loves you. We all have life to deal with, it is how we deal with life that reveals where our hearts are with our Lord. Can He be seen in you?

Fallen in Love Again

Well, come April 14 I will have been married for 8 years and have 5 beautiful blessings. I am learning a lot about love and what it takes to make a marriage successful. We have had our ups and downs, but I will say that the ups far out weigh the downs. God has blessed me tremendously, even after a divorce.

I carried the guilt of my divorce for many years. I was ashamed. When some found out I was even chastised and some told me I would never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. My heart was so saddened by that thought. But the Lord spoke to me in a way that only He can and I am most certain of my salvation.

It seems that my binds of love have grown far wider, far deeper, far higher than I could have ever imagined. My heart has doubled for the man that sought me. I couldn't imagine a moment without him and we are glued at the hip, unless he has to go to work. We are a team, working together. It has been amazing.

What I am ever so thankful for is how God took a bad situation and worked it for His good. It is amazing to see how he works. My heart is over filled with gratitude.

Love is a give! I truly believe that in order to fully experience love is to never take, but to always give. Putting your partner first. Doing little things to make their day better, brighter, and to make them smile. Sacrificing self for them. Because the funny thing, is in doing that, their hearts do the same.

My relationship with my husband is priority to my children. Why you ask? Because it is the love that he and I have for each other that flows down to them. We are an example to them of what their furture marriages are to be like. I want nothing but the best for my children and strive for the best in my marriage.

As Valentine's Day has come and gone, and an anniversary fast approaching. My heart is swelling with the sweet and savory aroma of love. I am so thankful. May we all be thankful for the wonderful men in our lives and do all that we can to encourage them, love them and make them laugh.

School

Well, we took an unusually long break from school while I revamped. The big switch was going to the computers. The kids are using Switched On Schoolhouse. They absolutely LOVE it! I believe that learning should be fun. It sparks curiosity, interest, and desire to keep on learning. It has been fun, but not without the trouble also. We had one computer that needed cleaning up, and in the midst of it all realized that our Mac would not be compatible without a lot of other software, so we bought a new computer. But now that most of the kinks are out, we are able to enjoy.

We completely changed our schedule and chores to allow more flexibility to our time. M, W, F are our main school times, that is 7 subjects on the computer and 2 workbooks to go through. Along with that, piano and chores. T, Th we made more of our fun/project times. So we do P.E and more character work on those days and sewing, baking, and Hunter has more building time in there. It has been nice. It gets everyone excited for something, which is awesome.

I love being able to homeschool because it allows me to revamp when needed and make sure everyone is getting what they need. But most of all, it helps me keep on track.

I am learning that as time goes, the most important thing in being a parent, is sacrificing your wants. There will be plenty of time for me, but to invest my time in them, while they are still here. Teaching them, loving them, growing them all for Christ. It is an amazing calling and one that I am learning takes a lot of effort on my part, but most of all a lot of my time spent on my knees. I am so thankful.

I pray that all of you are doing well. Sorry for no pictures as I still can't find my cord. I am ripping out carpet tomorrow and putting in wood floors. Perhaps I will find my cord so that I can post some pics. It should be interesting. :)